A Ponoka Mountie had to move quickly to disarm a man who pulled a can of pepper spray on him.
The officer was on patrol Sunday, March 8 at 1:45 a.m. when he saw a man walking on 50 Street partially in the lanes of traffic. The 29-year-old from Maskwacis put his hands in his pockets when the officer approached him and pulled out a can of pepper spray. The officer moved quickly to disarm him and make an arrest.
Police have charged the man with assault to a peace officer with a weapon, possession of marijuana and unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon. He was also in breach of conditions not to be in possession of a prohibited weapon.
Lucky to be alive
Two motorists are lucky to have received only minor injuries in a double vehicle rollover last week.
Emergency crews responded to a call of a two-vehicle rollover March 6 at 8 a.m. where an eastbound black Chevy pickup failed to stop at an intersection on Secondary Highway 795 and Range Road 444 and collided with a white Lexus RX 350.
Both vehicles subsequently rolled into the ditch where the drivers sustained minor injuries and were released at the scene. Police charged the 39-year-old female driver of the Chevy pickup with failing to stop at a stop sign.
Ponoka woman drives over park bench
Police charged a Ponoka woman with impaired driving after she drove over a bench across from the Rimoka Lodge last week.
The 39-year-old woman was found sitting in her vehicle Monday, March 2 at 5 p.m. when officers arrived at the scene of the collision. She was arrested and taken to the detachment where she provided two blood-alcohol samples of .22 and .20.
Impaired drivers on Highway 2
Members of the Ponoka Integrated Traffic Unit stopped two impaired drivers on Highway 2 last week.
One involved a 2012 VW Jetta being driven in an erratic manner. Officers witnessed the car being driven at 130 km/h March 4 at 11:40 p.m. when it sped off at speeds of 171 km/h. Officers turned on their emergency lights and the man pulled over.
The driver, a 26-year-old man from Airdrie, was arrested and he provided two blood-alcohol samples of .11 and .10.
The other impaired driver arrested was a 60-year-old man from Bowden from earlier in the day. Calls from concerned motorists on Highway 2 helped locate his car, which is reported to have swerved on the road and into a ditch and then back onto the highway. He provided samples of .15 and .13.
20-year-old Ponoka man assaults woman
Police have charged a 20-year-old Ponoka man with assault causing bodily harm last week after punching and kicking a woman to the ground.
Officers attended a home on the 5400 Block of 55 Street March 4 at noon and determined there is a past history with the couple. Investigations determined the man punched the woman and then kicked her while she was on the ground.
Theft suspect found dead in Calgary
There were two calls made to police last week regarding a suspicious man going through people’s property March 3 in the morning.
One call was in relation to the man on Range Road 260 at a feedlot asking if the company was hiring. When told that they weren’t, the man was seen going through people’s vehicles. At about the same time another call came in that a man, matching the same description, was at a nearby home looking for gas.
Police found his cell phone at the home and were able to determine his identity. He was a person of interest in a break-and-enter on Arbor Park Road recently. He was not located by police but was found several days later dead in Calgary. His death is not believed to be suspicious.
Police looking for credit card fraudsters
Police are looking for culprits who used a stolen Visa credit card to purchase prepaid credit cards Jan. 25 and 25 at a Ponoka gas station.
The suspects used the stolen card to make the purchases and it took the credit card company some weeks to determine its use was fraudulent and Ponoka RCMP was subsequently notified.
Copper wire stolen from welding truck
Police are looking for suspects involved in the theft of $1,000 worth of copper wire from a welding truck last week.
The truck is reported to have been parked at a local motel overnight of March 4.
Generator stolen from septic field
A $13,000 generator was reported to be stolen from a shed on the Ponoka septic fields the same night as the copper wire was stolen. Police say the generator is a Wacker G25 model and some hand held radios were also taken.
Ponoka RCMP and the Integrated Traffic Unit took 69 calls for service.
If you have information on any crime call Ponoka RCMP at 403-783-4472 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.